Effects of 8-week polarized vs. threshold training on cardiorespiratory fitness, post-exercise heart-rate recovery, and target accuracy under fatigue in table tennis players.

BACKGROUND: Table tennis training requires appropriate intensity distributions to improve physical conditioning without impairing skill execution. This study compared the effects of an 8-week polarized training (POL) model with those of a threshold training (THR) protocol in table tennis players. METHODS: Thirty-two male table tennis players (Tier 2) were randomly allocated (1:1) to either the POL intervention (80% Zone 1, 5% Zone 2, and 15% Zone 3) or the THR intervention (50% Zone 1, 45% Zone 2, and 5% Zone 3). Participants completed five supervised on-court training sessions per week, with internal workload monitored and targeted to be similar between groups. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing was used to quantify maximal oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2 max ) and ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2). An incremental topspin protocol was used to assess sport-specific time to exhaustion (TTE), target accuracy during the terminal stage of the incremental protocol, and heart rate recovery at 60 s (HRR60). RESULTS: The POL intervention produced greater physiological and performance adaptations than the THR intervention. VT1 increased to a greater extent in the POL group than in the THR group (+9.8% vs. +6.4%, p = 0.03). VT2 improved only in the POL group (+5.0% vs. -1.0%, p < 0.001). The POL protocol also increased sport-specific TTE (+2.7%, p = 0.049), improved target accuracy under fatigue (+7.8%, p = 0.041), and enhanced HRR60 (+11.7%, p = 0.040). The THR group showed no statistically significant improvements in these outcomes. No significant group-by-time interaction was observed for absolute V ˙ O 2 max (p = 0.821). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that an 8-week polarized training program may be more effective than threshold training for improving submaximal cardiorespiratory fitness, sport-specific endurance, fatigue-induced technical stability, and autonomic recovery in competitive male table tennis players.